Yi Lab
Principal Investigator: Rui Yi
Institution: Northwestern University (Chicago, IL)
Primary Subfield: Genetics/Genomics
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Project Summary Epigenetic mechanisms, in particular the ones mediated by Histone modifications, have emerged as an essential layer of gene expression control mechanism. In the skin, several Histone modifications such as H3K27me3 and Histone deacetylase such as HDAC1/2/3 have been studied. These elegant studies have not only provided novel insights into important functions of epigenetic mechanisms in the skin but also established skin as an excellent model system to study epigenetic mechanisms in a spatiotemporally well- defined tissue. However, our understanding of epigenetic mechanisms in the skin is incomplete. The functions of numerous Histone marks and their associated modifying enzymes are unknown. Among them, Histone 4 Lysine16 acetylation (H4K16Ac) is particularly notable for its key role in regulating chromatin compaction. Structural and biophysical studies indicate that H4K16Ac plays an essential role in transcription activation by influencing both nucleosome structure and interaction with chromatin-binding proteins. H4K16Ac is catalyzed by the MYST-family lysine acetyltransferase MOF (also known as KAT8), which is broadly conserved in fly, mouse and human. The function o…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01AR081103-05: Investigate MOF regulated epigenetic mechanisms of skin development (2026)
- 5R01AR071435-10: Transcriptional regulation of skin stem cells and their niche (2026)
- 5R01HD107841-05: Modeling p63-associated human birth defects with systems developmental biology approaches (2026)
- 1R01AG100048-01: Defining the role of cell mechanics in regulating hair follicle stem cells across homeostasis and aging (2026)
- 5R01HD107841-04: Modeling p63-associated human birth defects with systems developmental biology approaches (2025)
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